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In this gripping talk, litigator and TED Fellow Itamar Mann details the perilous boat migrations of asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea. With a surplus of evidence gathered by researchers and activists, he explains how lawyers are making progress in prosecuting human rights abuses happening on militarized coasts. On a basic human level, Mann speaks to the obligation we have to defend each other’s right to a dignified life — because the future of how we inhabit the planet together depends on it.
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[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]
A decade ago,
after a peaceful revolution toppled
the longtime Tunisian dictator Ben Ali,
I was sitting in an orange grove
outside of Athens, Greece.
Undocumented migrants were hiding there.
I came to interview them
about human rights abuses
they had suffered while entering Europe.
One of them, a Tunisian fellow
in a leather jacket, explained.
The people who overthrew Ben Ali,
they want democracy and a dignified life.
“We, who have crossed the Mediterranean,
want democracy and a dignified life.”
What is the difference?
The migrant is a kind of revolutionary.
This idea stuck with me
and informed my work as a lawyer
and a scholar ever since.
As Middle Eastern revolutions
turned into civil wars,
the refugee crisis unfolded
in the Mediterranean.
This exacerbated political pressures
against asylum seekers.
Initially, the European Court
of Human Rights
took a strong stand
against border violence.
In 2012, the court decided
that Italy cannot turn asylum seekers
back from the Mediterranean
to dangerous Libyan territory,
without first hearing them.
The human rights community cheered.
I was not one of those who cheered.
In my scholarship,
I predicted that this kind of decision
could also generate bad results.
States determined to enforce
their own borders
could turn back asylum seekers
even before they enter the supervision
of their own courts.
I was regretfully correct.
In recent years,
the Italians have relied on Libyan
militias to do their dirty work.
So eager are some European governments
to ditch their own
human rights obligations,
they’ve equipped and armed Libyan militia,
ignoring their rampant use of torture.
This is also why, since January 2014,
more than 34,000 migrants have died
by drowning in the Mediterranean.
And since COVID-19 began,
the militarized border
in the Mediterranean
has become in some ways even more extreme.
But how does the militarized border
cause deaths by drowning?
I’d like to illustrate by a reference
to a case I’m currently working on.
On November 6, 2017,
a group of asylum seekers
left the Libyan coast
and traveled through the Mediterranean,
hoping to reach Europe.
As the overcrowded boat
started to break down,
they sent a distress signal,
and under international law,
states are obligated to facilitate
the rescue of vessels in distress.
Now, a strange confrontation followed.
Two vessels, not one,
came to pick up
the asylum seekers in distress.
One of them was sailing
under a European flag,
its crew in civilian clothing.
The other was a Libyan vessel
with its crew armed
and in the very uniform of the government
that these people had fled.
For the asylum seekers,
the choice was clear.
Many jumped into the water,
determined at all costs
not to let the Libyans pick them up.
Twenty people drowned,
victims of a contemporary struggle
for liberation across borders.
What I didn’t predict a few years back
was the courageous response
of civil society volunteers
such as members of Sea-Watch,
who have literally inserted their bodies
between the Libyan forces
and the migrants in the water.
Crucially, they’ve also
brought back images
from cameras on board and body cams.
These images allowed my colleagues,
Charles Heller and Lorenzo Pezzani
to visually reconstruct
the events of November 2017.
When they came to my team and me
asking that we go back to the European
Court of Human Rights,
I was hesitant.
States always have ways to circumvent
progressive human rights decisions,
but the evidence spoke for itself.
With my colleagues Violeta Moreno-Lax
and Loredana Leo,
we filed the case at the European
Court of Human Rights.
We argue that Italy, as well as Europe,
cannot rely on Libyan militia
to sidestep their own accountability.
On a high level of generality,
the question is when is a point
of contact established
between a person in need of protection
and a state that can protect them.
I’ve called this moment
the human rights encounter.
It is a dramatic moment
in which legal commitments
are put to an existential test.
It’s not about human rights law generally,
but a particular person
in a particular time.
About simple commitments
we have to each other as persons.
It is not merely by chance
that the sea becomes the environment
for this large-scale struggle
for liberation across borders.
As for the court, it has recognized
the human rights encounter,
when it’s physical and direct.
In the case I just told you about,
we go further.
Even when mediated by technology
or by proxy forces,
the underlying commitments
to human rights should not change.
In my organization,
the Global Legal Action Network,
we pursue this case I told you about
as part of a strategic litigation program.
We consider international law
and the laws of many countries.
We collaborate with researchers
and activists who use
cutting edge technologies
to document violations
across many borders.
As war, persecution
and climate change continue,
we believe this strategy will redefine
the future of human rights lawyering.
The future of human rights lawyering
is not only about a struggle
against one corrupt leader or another.
It’s also about questions concerning
how do we all inhabit
this planet together?
Thank you.
night fury
June 16, 2021 at 3:01 pm
Its easy to talk about saving the world when you live in a gated community
Matthew Morton
June 16, 2021 at 4:24 pm
@Poo Poo and it’s easy to pretend like all your goofy “Talking” is actually accomplishing something 😂
Poo Poo
June 16, 2021 at 4:36 pm
@Matthew Morton well at the very least it got you to engage with the video and if you really want to make the case that words have never accomplished anything all throughout history I would love for you to make it.
Matthew Morton
June 16, 2021 at 4:49 pm
@Poo Poo I don’t want to make that case though……….
why do you think I would? Do you always jump to such extremes when talking to people you don’t know?
Or only on the internet? lol
Matthew Morton
June 16, 2021 at 4:50 pm
@Poo Poo don’t answer that 😂 seriously, bro….I’m not sticking around to argue horse crap with ya lol
“Independent Study” still exists 😛
Poo Poo
June 16, 2021 at 4:53 pm
@Matthew Morton just following your thinking to its logical conclusion. Again if you want to make the case that words don’t accomplish anything go on ahead.
Jezza Lenko
June 16, 2021 at 3:07 pm
But …where does it end this mass migration of people? Over population everywhere …a destroyed Earth…
Daniel Warner
June 16, 2021 at 3:18 pm
You don’t have a right to invade other people’s countries.
Daniel Warner
June 16, 2021 at 11:23 pm
@Else Where it was a rhetorical question.
Else Where
June 17, 2021 at 12:04 am
@Daniel Warner Right and I’m agreeing with you
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:24 am
@Daniel Warner Are Europeans native to North and South America? Do you know the answer?
あからあかり
June 17, 2021 at 12:52 am
We should probably enter the country based on legal procedures.
Daniel Warner
June 17, 2021 at 12:54 am
@Lane Atkinson YES.
Sain D
June 16, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Good place to start in in said country said persons immigrated from. Who moves to a free nation looking for opportunities and demands change? Backwards thinking….
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:26 am
Europeans did when they fled to the Americas 👍
Connie D
June 16, 2021 at 3:30 pm
The main objection to immigrants is the strain on the country’s economy. Are you volunteering services or money to solve part of this problem? Just as boats are capsizing from the flood of refugees so can a country. I’m hoping for a solution that puts the economic onus on the country refugees are fleeing from. Refugees would be better served by solving the problems that force them to abandon friends, family, and homeland.
Matthew Morton
June 16, 2021 at 3:34 pm
You know what…….I think us white guys in America had it right ~250 years ago when we said “Screw this crap!” 😂
Lane Atkinson
June 16, 2021 at 9:30 pm
And proceeded to invade via mass immigration?
Matthew Morton
June 16, 2021 at 11:35 pm
@Lane Atkinson I didn’t say we had *everything* right 😂✌️🇺🇸
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:28 am
@Matthew Morton Fair enough. We all have skeletons in our closets 💀
First
June 16, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Every time he says “human rights” it’s just code for “white people are not allowed to have their own countries”.
TRIBE OF MENTORS
June 16, 2021 at 3:38 pm
*Treat yourself with love and respect, and you will attract people who show you the same* 🙏
4thelORD
June 16, 2021 at 4:40 pm
I AGREE
Vitaminreicher
June 16, 2021 at 5:20 pm
I like that one 👍
First
June 16, 2021 at 3:40 pm
Notice how there is not one single word mentioning the desires or concerns of the hundreds of millions of Europeans who don’t want their countries repopulated with unending streams of people from the third world. To people like this, we don’t exist, we are simply here to provide homes for unlimited numbers of migrants.
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:25 am
Notice how it was okay for Europeans to do this to other countries, but now that it’s their turn they want to cry about it. It’s a little thing called karma 👍
Esben Andreasen
June 16, 2021 at 3:59 pm
“When war is over, they must go home. Europe is for Europeans.”
– The Dalai Lama
Juan Pineda
June 16, 2021 at 6:43 pm
The world belongs to all living habitants. A H
Jim Panse
June 16, 2021 at 10:13 pm
@Juan Pineda Ado Hit? Or what does A H stand for?
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:39 am
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 19:33-34.
あからあかり
June 17, 2021 at 1:10 am
The Dalai Lama has been driven out of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party, and he would like to return to his homeland one day. He is seeking political independence, not economic prosperity.
4thelORD
June 16, 2021 at 4:41 pm
WELL, DON’T COME TO AMERICA WE ARE NO LONGER A FREE NATION WE ARE IN PERIL REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR NATIONS IN THE PAST IF YOU COME HERE YOU SHOULD LOVE FREEDOM AND OUR CONSTITUTION NOT A PARTY……THINK FOR YOURSELF
Juan Pineda
June 16, 2021 at 6:45 pm
Racist A H
Leocardia Emanuel
June 16, 2021 at 9:16 pm
@Juan Pineda —
Pot calling the kettle black. You’re racist. So am I.
Else Where
June 16, 2021 at 11:31 pm
This is true.
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:29 am
“Think for yourself” after you finish telling people how to think. How ironic lmao
TWP VTEC
June 16, 2021 at 4:54 pm
Reminder that you’re not racist for opposing mass immigration
Daniel Warner
June 17, 2021 at 12:39 am
@Lane Atkinson 20 million people huh? Now if that’s not historical revisionism, I don’t know what is, smh. There wasn’t many “Native Americans” to begin with because they had no civilization, only sparsely difuse tribes throughout the continent. When the Europeans first arrived, most of the continent was completely bare. There was never any unified “native” people. The majority of “natives” that died, did so due to smallpox. Different “native” tribes genocided and cannibalized each other before any European settlers came.
Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:41 am
@Daniel Warner Yes. 20 million people were killed. Facts don’t care about your feelings.
あからあかり
June 17, 2021 at 12:43 am
It is historically common for natives to be dispossessed of their land due to mass immigration. The Americas and Australia are good examples. We Japanese tried to imitate them, but we lost the war, so it did not happen.
Daniel Warner
June 17, 2021 at 12:48 am
@Lane Atkinson I guess you’re just gonna ignore smallpox than….
Daniel Warner
June 17, 2021 at 12:51 am
@Lane Atkinson most of America was unoccupied and unclaimed when the Europeans first showed up.
Juan Pineda
June 16, 2021 at 6:59 pm
WOW , is sad to see all the racism in this beautiful World..
In my opinion ALL Human beings should cease to exist, is time for some other ,Loving , Much BETTER type of being coexist with this world. ..
Александр Садко
June 16, 2021 at 7:52 pm
May be you should save theirs rights befor the migrate ?
Jason George
June 16, 2021 at 7:57 pm
1. The European Union’s response to refugee crisis in the Middle East and North Africa is an insult towards law-abiding, hard-working migrants applying via legal means. Particularly Filipino/Chinese migrants to Europe.
2. National Security and Integrity play a more significant role in a country than humanitarian works. International borders serve the purpose to protect and uphold such integrity.
2a). Australia sends illegal borders away from the continent. Singapore introduces canning to visa overstayers. Bite at these countries all you want, you progressive left.
Leocardia Emanuel
June 16, 2021 at 9:05 pm
The human rights of migrants should begin with their own governments in their own countries, and not forcing another country to care for them on taxpayer dime and solve all their problems.
Un Known
June 16, 2021 at 9:07 pm
North Africa is one of the richest places in earth … Sadly it’s ruled by dictators and corrupt governments . and I blame France and Italy for colonizing their land . always stick their noses into north african problems in the name of human rights but there’s no rights there’s just intereste. 🇲🇦🇩🇿🇹🇳🇱🇾
Leocardia Emanuel
June 16, 2021 at 9:20 pm
More soft soap puke and blather by this itamar Mann masquerading as Deep Thoughts who wants you to think he’s found the answer to all.
cutepinkbandanaman
June 16, 2021 at 10:03 pm
Stop scrolling the comments. Immigration is a keyword that sends the video to the recommended tabs of people with strong opinions one way or the other and an addiction to internet conflict. The people in the comments aren’t even here to watch the video, they just want to post their barely related “imagine world without money” or “blacks and latinos ruin America” opinions or find members of the “opposing side” to call idiots.
Else Where
June 16, 2021 at 11:20 pm
If America’s borders are going to be open then Americans should be allowed to leave and go to any country they wish to. If America’s borders are open, all countries border should be open. Plain and simple.
We Are Showboat
June 17, 2021 at 12:24 am
Refugees do not have a right to invade another country and Western nations do not have a right to destabilize other countries. So how about this. Western nations all sign a UN treaty that says “from this point on, if a Western nation works to destabilize another country, all inhabitants of that country get to immigrate free and clear to the destabilizer if they want.” Boom. No more war. No more refugees.
Matthew Simon
June 17, 2021 at 12:31 am
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Matthew Simon
June 17, 2021 at 12:31 am
{+=1=8=0=2=4=0=0=5=1=4=1}
Matthew Simon
June 17, 2021 at 12:39 am
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Lane Atkinson
June 17, 2021 at 12:35 am
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 19:33-34. I see a lot of Christians but I don’t see a lot who actually read the bible…👀
あからあかり
June 17, 2021 at 12:49 am
If these foreigners are pagans, should Christians convert them?
David Smith
June 17, 2021 at 1:16 am
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June 17, 2021 at 1:28 am
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